Monday, February 9, 2009

Progress is on-going.....

Much progress has been made on the rabbit barn. Now we have 3 double rows of new cages completed and hooked up to the automatic water supply, the 3rd row having just been completed today.

We have moved all the rabbits to the new pens; one-hundred-fourteen 24" x 30" new cages in all. We still have a third of the barn to go. My husband has worked very hard to get this much completed in such a short amount of time.


I am very proud of the water system hubby designed and installed. On the lower left where the water comes in from a hydrant below, there is a 2 1/2 gal. water heater, which serves to keep the circulating water just above the freezing point. Water travels from that to a circulating pump and in turn to a medication unit if needed.


The water either by-passes the medicator or not, depending on which line it is directed through. In the picture we were experimenting with adding apple-cider vinegar to the water, which is healthful to most animals as well as humans. I give it to the chickens and used to put it in the dairy goats' water when we had them.
It is so good to have the water on an automatic system. It is always fresh and there will be little bacteria build-up, which will be alleviated by flushing the lines periodically. That precious commodity called time can be used for observing the rabbits more closely and doing other needed upkeep. As far as insulating the barn we have had as low as 9* this winter and the water bottles did not freeze. We are hoping the insulation also does its job in helping to keep the barn a bit cooler in the heat of the summer. I hope to hear from others who have added insulation to their rabbit facility.

4 comments:

~GweN~ said...

Hi Mom..I was showing Sammi this page and all she could say was..."Is it illegal to have that many animals?" LOL Isn't it amazing how much in life has changed and now we have kids thinking it is illegal to have too many pets? *Shakes My Head* Love you and tell Philip great job!

Anonymous said...

Wow, is this his design? Maybe he should paton (sp?) it if it is!

Sunny said...

Yes, Rose, this is his own design. He had looked at a couple others, then decided what would work best in our situation. And Gwen, Philip says thanks for the compliments! Ask Sammi for me, "Does a cattle farm have too many cows?"

Tina. said...

Great Answer!